


From The Start

by MattDoesFanfic



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Boys Kissing, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Police Brutality, The Dai Li (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25128088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MattDoesFanfic/pseuds/MattDoesFanfic
Summary: Jet must make a decision about Li. It's a lot harder for reasons that are entirely his own fault.
Relationships: Jet/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 142





	From The Start

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this to my Tumblr originally. Feel free to follow me @ cowboy-zuko

Jet hated Li. He hated that he's put him in this position. Hated that he was forcing him to choose between the lives of total strangers and the life of his fastest friend. 

☆~☆

From the moment Jet had seen Li, he knew he was doomed. It wasn't his strong jaw, or his brilliant gold eyes, or his perfect dark hair. He'd seen plenty of boys like that (though the combination created a striking image indeed). It wasn't the massive burn that took up most of the left side of Li's face. Jet had seen what fire could do personally. 

No what had stood out to Jet was the way Li carried himself. He had an intense nervous energy about him. Not the nervous energy of a scared kid in way over his head but the intense energy of a man who had seen violence. A man who had been asked to kill and had said yes. 

It was the same energy that Jet felt within himself.

Li's face was a mask of cold stoicism. He said little and what he did say was decidedly impersonal. What little Jet had been able to get out of Li was that he and his uncle Mushi were traveling and they had been for a while. That his uncle was a bit of a tea aficionado. And that the burn on his face was a very sore subject for him.

Jet understood that. There were things about his past that he didn't like to talk about with his closest friends, let a lone a stranger. Jet respected Li's desire to keep things close to the chest. 

Yeah Jet liked Li from the moment he saw him.

☆~☆

Li and his uncle were firebenders. There was no other explanation for how his uncle could have ice cold tea one moment, and then be sipping scalding hot tea the next.

None of the Freedom Fighters, his friends, had believed him. They'd insisted that Li and his uncle were just simple refugees trying to start a new life in Ba Sing Se. Just like they were.

Yes, Jet had a history of paranoia in the past. His hatred of the Fire Nation was well documented. But he was right this time! There was no other explanation. When pressed on this, his friends would just remind him that he was supposed to be starting a new life in Ba Sing Se. 

That was the whole reason he wanted to turn them in. 

☆~☆

Li seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. When presented with the prospect of stealing from the defiantly rich, Li had agreed at once. And that wasn't all. Li was incredibly competent. He blended into the group like he'd always been there. And his skill with a sword was by far the best he'd ever seen. 

Jet was in awe at Li. He barely had to speak. Li understood his cues and read his body language better than anyone he'd ever met. It normally took years to gain that kind of understanding with someone. Even his own Freedom Fighters couldn't always read him the way he could read them. There was none of that with Li. 

Immediately following the very successful raid, Jet had presented the idea of Li joining the Freedom Fighters. They'd instantly reminded him that there were no Freedom Fighters anymore. That they barely knew Li. And while those were both true, Jet couldn't get the idea out of his head. He couldn't get the idea of Li out of his head. 

It was just so nice. 

☆~☆

. 

Jet knew what would happen if he turned Li and his uncle over to the Dai Li. At best, they'd be quietly executed. At worst … Jet couldn't think about it. No. He had to think about it. He would be sentencing two people to unspeakable torture by a police force that were not held accountable for their actions. He'd be sentencing two people he liked to that. 

But what other choice did he have? Let two firebenders just live undetected in the city? He'd seen what firebenders could do. He saw it every night when he dreamed about his village being burned down. And the idea of having to see that again was almost too much to think about. 

☆~☆

The ferry ride was an overnight trip. Normally if you made the trip at sunrise, you could be in the city by sundown. But they'd started late and wouldn't be arriving until the next morning. Private accommodations were provided for those who wished to sleep but Jet wasn't the least bit surprised to find Li wide awake in an empty sleeping room.

"Mind if I join you?" Jet asked, putting on his most charismatic voice. Li made a noise of affirmation and nodded his head. 

Jet sat beside him on the cot. There was a beat of not uncomfortable silence. It was companionable. Li was companionable. 

"I'm sorry about asking about your scar." Jet poured every ounce of apology he could into his voice. 

Li's voice was small. "It's fine." 

"No it's not." Jet said matter of factly. "It was an invasion of privacy and I'm sorry." 

Jet hadn't known Li for very long but he'd bet his life that he rarely looked so surprised. 

"I'm guessing people don't apologize to you often?" Jet smiled.

"No, almost never." Li shook his head. 

"A shame, really." 

Li looked at him curiously and the way his golden eyes glittered made Jet's brain stop working. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Li's. It was quick, chaste even. But Li radiated a heat that bordered on scalding and when he heard Li let out a contented sigh, Jet couldn't help but smile even wider. 

It was Jet who pulled back first. He was still smiling when he spoke. "I'm uh- sorry about that too." 

Li smiled softly and Jet could have sworn he'd died and found his everlasting paradise. 

"Don't be." 

☆~☆

Jet felt stupid now. He'd let his guard down. He'd let Li get inside his head. He'd been blind to the truth. Of course Li was skilled in militia operations, he came from a military state and very well might have been a part of the Fire Nation military. Of course he was so stoic, it was a whole lot easier to not accidently light something on fire if you kept your emotions in strict check. Of course he was traveling for such a long time, the Fire Nation was hundreds of miles away. 

He hated himself for falling for all of it. He was an idiot! If it wasn't for a tea lover's carelessness, they would've gotten away with it. 

Jet knew what he had to do. Li had left him no choice. They had to be reported to the Dai Li.


End file.
